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Which kids will get stuck in the web?

Internet “boot camps” are springing up in China and the superfast-broadband haven of South Korea as parents seek ways to free their kids from a debilitating latter-day condition&colon; internet addiction.

Now researchers in Taiwan have identified a group of mental health conditions which may make a child more likely to get hooked on the net – giving parents the chance to take some evasive action before it is too late.

A team led by psychologist Chih-Hung Ko of Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH) in Taiwan tracked the self-reported internet usage of 2300 11-year olds over two years. Every six months, the children filled in forms detailing the time they spent online.

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Early warning

Across the sexes, they found depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social phobia or feelings of hostility to be the most prevalent predictors of which children would go on to develop an internet addiction as adolescents.

For girls, social phobia and depression were markedly the strongest predictors, the team report. “This means sex differences should be taken into consideration when developing prevention and intervention strategies for internet addiction,” says Ko.

However, the authors acknowledge there is disagreement over the prevalence of internet addiction, citing contradictory studies which suggest it affects anywhere between 1.4 per cent and 18 per cent of adolescents.

The journal’s editors say it’s worth keeping an eye on. “Our intention in raising this concern is not to be alarmist but rather to alert paediatricians to what might become a major public health problem.”